SAN ANTONIO -- The Warriors cannot, will not win when Stephen Curry plays as he did in Game 5, and nobody knows that better than Curry.

He has become this franchise's singular gravitational force -- when he is strong, they crush and destroy.

When Curry falters, the whole Warriors cosmos spins into chaos.

And in the crucial Game 5 against San Antonio on Tuesday ...

"I was terrible, plain and simple," a dejected Curry said, slumping at his locker after the Warriors' 109-91 loss at the AT&T Center, which gave the Spurs a 3-2 series lead.

"They outplayed us as a team, but individually I didn't have anything on either end. I was a step slow, shot wasn't falling.

"I was trying to make plays, but defensively I lost a little focus. I personally have got to be better."

On Tuesday, Curry, the most dynamic player in the postseason up to this point (before Tuesday, he was averaging 25 points and almost four made 3-pointers per game), played 34 listless minutes, made just 4 of 14 shots against San Antonio's hawking defense and scored only nine points.

He also was blasted on defense repeatedly by a Spurs offense that was determined to attack him in every way possible and was a game-worst minus-21 in the plus-minus.

"Tonight, I wasn't locked in, and that's inexcusable -- this is a big game, and I kind of dropped the ball," Curry said.

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At several points in the game, Curry's frustration was more than evident -- after he dribbled a ball off his foot out of bounds, he shook his head and grimaced.

After a bad couple of defensive possessions, Curry smiled harshly and put his head down as he headed to the bench during a timeout.

Curry said his twice-injured left ankle was not a contributing factor to his struggle against Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and company.

"Not really," Curry said. "I mean, it's sore, but I came in feeling good and was pretty optimistic about how I could play tonight. But it didn't go that way."

Game 5 certainly wasn't all his fault -- the Warriors have other good players, and Harrison Barnes (25 points on 10 of 18 shooting and seven rebounds) and Jarrett Jack (20 points) did all they could to keep the Warriors in this game.

But as Curry says, he is always the focal point. When he's beaten, the Warriors seldom can turn back that tide.

In fact, on this night, Klay Thompson seemed to be pulled into the same funk -- he was only 2 for 8, scored only four points, and for the first time this season didn't attempt a 3-point shot.

"It felt weird out there -- that is strange," Thompson said when asked about not attempting a 3-pointer.

In Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, Curry and Thompson were twin terrors from every spot of the floor.

What happened Tuesday? Curry said the Spurs didn't change much defensively, but he and Thompson just couldn't put the ball in the basket.

"We just missed shots," Curry said. "I think early in the game I got a little off-balance on a couple trying to get a foul ...

"Me and Klay have to be better for us to get to where we want to go; there's no getting around it."

So the Warriors now face elimination in Thursday's Game 6 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors have a big thing going for them -- they're 4-0 in these playoffs in games following losses. But they also looked weary and slow on Tuesday -- wearier and slower than they've looked all postseason.

And now everybody in Warriorsland has to wonder: With Curry's issues, Andrew Bogut's re-tweaking of his own ankle problem Tuesday, and all the accumulated effort and energy expended, have the Warriors finally hit a wall? Is the Warriors' magic ride coming to an end?